Oscar Picks 2017

Oscar night is over, and like all other reviewers, Russ and Rich had their own picks for who would and who should win Oscars. They have different tastes, but when it comes down to the best of the best, Russ and Rich are rarely that far apart. See who was better at predicting the winners after the show February 26.

Best Picture

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Russ:La La Land(Lionshould win)

Rich:La La Land (Hidden Figures should win)

Actor in a Leading Role

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Russ:Casey Affleck (Andrew Garfield should win)

Rich:Casey Affleck (Viggo Mortensen should win)

Actress in a Leading Role

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Russ:Emma Stone (Emma Stone should win)

Rich:Emma Stone (Natalie Portman should win)

Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Russ:Mahershala Ali (Michael Shannon should win)

Rich:Mahershala Ali(Dev Patel should win)

Actress in a Supporting Role

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Russ:Viola Davis (Octavia Spencer should win)

Rich:Viola Davis (Octavia Spencershould win).

Animated Feature Film

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

My Life as a Zucchini

The Red Turtle

Zootopia

Russ:Kubo and the Two Strings (Moana should win).

Rich:Kubo and the Two Strings (Moana should win).

Cinematography

Arrival

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Silence

Russ:La La Land (Lion should win)

Rich:La La Land (Lion should win)

Costume Design

Allied

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie

La La Land

Russ:La La Land (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them should win)

Rich:La La Land (Jackie should win)

Directing

Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Russ:Damien Chazelle (Mel Gibson should win)

Rich:Damien Chazelle (Mel Gibson should win)

Documentary Feature

13th

Fire at Sea

I Am Not Your Negro

Life, Animated

O.J.: Made in America

Russ:O.J.: Made in America (I Am Not Your Negro should win)

Rich:O.J.: Made in America(O.J.: Made in America should win)

Documentary Short Subject

4.1 Miles

Extremis

Joe’s Violin

The White Helmets

Watani: My Homeland

Russ:Extremis (Extremis should win)

Rich: Extremis(Extremis should win)

Film Editing

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Moonlight

Russ:La La Land (Hacksaw Ridge should win)

Rich:La La Land (Hacksaw Ridge should win)

Foreign Language Film

A Man Called Ove

Land of Mine

Tanna

The Salesman

Toni Erdmann

Russ:A Man Called Ove (A Man Called Ove should win)

Rich:Toni Erdmann (A Man Called Ove should win)

Makeup and Hairstyling

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad

Russ: Star Trek Beyond (Suicide Squadshould win)

Rich:Star Trek Beyond (A Man Called Ove should win)

Music — Original Score

Nicholas Britell (Moonlight)

Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

Mica Levi (Jackie)

Thomas Newman (Passengers)

Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka (Lion)

Russ:Justin Hurwitz (Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka should win)

Rich:Justin Hurwitz (Justin Hurwitz should win)

Music — Original Song

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” (La La Land)

“Can’t Stop the Feeling” (Trolls)

“City of Stars” (La La Land)

“How Far I’ll Go” (Moana)

“The Empty Chair” (Jim: The James Foley Story)

Russ:“City of Stars” (“How Far I’ll Go” should win)

Rich:“City of Stars” (“How Far I’ll Go” should win)

Production Design

Arrival

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hail, Caesar!

La La Land

Passengers

Russ:La La Land (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them should win)

Rich:La La Land (Passengers should win)

Short Film — Animated

Blind Vaysha

Borrowed Time

Pear Cider and Cigarettes

Pearl

Piper

Russ:Piper (Piper should win)

Rich:Piper (Piper should win)

Short Film — Live Action

Ennemis Intérieurs

Le Femme et le TGV

Silent Nights

Sing

Timecode

Russ:Ennemis Intérieurs(Ennemis Intérieurs should win)

Rich:Ennemis Intérieurs(Ennemis Intérieurs should win)

Sound Editing

Arrival

Deepwater Horizon

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Sully

Russ:Hacksaw Ridge(Hacksaw Ridge should win)

Rich:Hacksaw Ridge (Hacksaw Ridge should win)

Sound Mixing

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Russ:La La Land (Hacksaw Ridge should win)

Rich:La La Land (Hacksaw Ridge should win)

Visual Effects

Deepwater Horizon

Doctor Strange

Kubo and the Two Strings

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The Jungle Book

Russ:The Jungle Book (The Jungle Book should win)

Rich:The Jungle Book (The Jungle Book should win)

Writing — Adapted Screenplay

Arrival

Fences

Hidden Figures

Lion

Moonlight

Russ:Hidden Figures (Lion should win)

Rich:Moonlight (Lion should win)

Writing — Original Screenplay

20th Century Women

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

The Lobster

Russ:Manchester by the Sea (Manchester by the Sea should win)

Rich:Manchester by the Sea (Hell or High Water should win)

This was a surprise year for the Oscars in more ways than one. Many of the award winners were major upsets, and that clearly hurt the predictions. We’ll have to get better next year. The final tally is as follows:

Rich correctly predicted 14 of 24 (58%). Russ correctly predicted 13 of 24 (54%). After several ties, Rich gets the gold this year, but barely so. See you next year.